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Sean Payton: Saints Would Have 31 Suitors If Taysom Hill Was Offered in Trade

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured ColumnistFebruary 3, 2021

New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill (7) warms up before an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears in New Orleans, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Butch Dill/Associated Press

The New Orleans Saints would apparently have a lot of teams banging down their door if they ever made Taysom Hill available in a trade. 

That's at least the opinion of Saints head coach Sean Payton. Payton told The Ringer's Kevin Clark that every other franchise in the league would be interested in Hill's services in his view:

Kevin Clark @bykevinclark

SLOW NEWS DAY: Sean Payton (!) joins me to talk Queen's Gambit, address the Taysom haters, dive deep on Mahomes, trash talk with Steve Smith, talk about the future of football and much, much more. Iconic debut guest. https://t.co/QnTVqJWXdX

Until New Orleans signals a willingness to move Hill, it's impossible to prove or disprove Payton's opinion. The 30-year-old would probably have a wide market for the reasons Payton outlined, though.

There aren't many players who can genuinely be termed a triple threat. During the 2020 season, Hill finished with 555 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns while passing for 928 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

The tougher answer to pin down is how Hill would be valued by other teams.

With Drew Brees out injured, New Orleans rolled with him over Jameis Winston to mixed results. Two of his appearances came against the Atlanta Falcons, who allowed the most passing yards (293.6 per game). He also finished 9-of-16 for 78 yards and an interception in Week 12 against the Denver Broncos.

It didn't take long for opposing teams to catch up to Lamar Jackson a bit. Imagine what they would be able to do with more time to scout Hill.

The Athletic's Larry Holder spoke to Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network, who called Hill "more of a complementary player than a replacement guy" as the Saints ponder a possible future without Brees. Holder went on to write Jameis Winston looks like the favorite to succeed Brees.

In general, Payton's perception of Hill may not match the reality of the situation.